As voice actors (and really just humans working at a profession we want to succeed in), we can sometimes get caught up in playing it safe, taking on personas we believe to be more widely accepted by society, or even hiding our uniqueness due to fear of the unknown. It's important, though, to remember that staying true to your authentic self will likely be the key to your success.
Pursuing your passions in authentic ways leads to more creativity and flow. Lean into your passions and have fun with your creative endeavors instead of going into your booth with the weight of the world on your shoulders and the goal of "going viral." When voice actors have fun and enjoy their work, the listening ears on the other end of the microphone can tell.
Below is an article about KLR Productions and how the account, allegedly run by three friends, has gone viral by narrating (mostly) animal videos in a hilariously authentic way. What stands out to you? What skills have they used to pursue their passion?
Originally written by Aditi Bora HERE
Animals always have a voice. Whether they know it or not, humans assign verbal communications to help humanize their furry friends. For instance, we associate big animals like tigers and horses with low, dopey voices, whereas rabbits or mice might have high-pitched, squeaky tones. These conclusions often branch from what we consume on television or in Disney movies. For example, "Cinderella," that movie has mice with squeaky voices that truly fit their characters. In any case, we succumb to the temptation of trying to comprehend the thoughts of animals. But if you are curious about what goes on in the minds of your furry friends, you are in luck because we have you covered.
A social media handle called KLR Productions has dedicated itself to narrating the subjects' (mostly animals) inner monologues, imitating their speech patterns to explore motivations and objectives. The account, allegedly run by three friends, takes ordinary animal videos and does voice-overs on the interactions/actions happening in the video. Despite changing the tone of their voices according to the animals, it seems that every narration brings life and color to each video which was not there before. Not only do these videos have varying degrees of entertainment and satire as cinematic masterpieces, but they are also high-key, low-key, and medium-key hilarious and addictive.
Sure, a video of a cute kitten wearing a beret is fun for everyone to watch, but with a voice, these animals are given more life and personality than they could ever know. In one video, KLR can be seen voicing for a docile serval called 'Chester' getting smacked around by a tiny kitten called 'Snowball.' The kitten claws at his face and despite attempting to be tough, Chester, as always, backs down and cowers away from his teensy feline friend. Chester then tells Snowball to "calm your claws" and tells him about a plan to stop their owners from adopting a 'poop-smelling, always-humping' dog. The video was an instant hit on the internet and garnered over 550K likes on Instagram.
Recently, they dubbed a video of two monkeys, one on the phone and the other on a laptop and a sly raccoon. In the clip, the monkey tells IT friend that the Raccoon Federation is trying to outbid the monkeys on bananas. The frustrated IT monkey slaps the laptop keyboard, unable to obtain the password. Meanwhile, the raccoon rubs its hands together in anticipation of all the trash they are going to get in exchange for the bananas. The video received over 52K likes on Instagram, and viewers were ROFL from watching the video. "KLR cinematic universe connecting the Raccoon Federation here," commented @hoyoonsong. "The Racoons Federation should have their own page," joked @temidayomajek. "They went "bananas" over their loss to Raccoon Federation," added @jitbanerjee.
KLR even made a voice-over of a cat, who evidently looked in despair after discovering that Thanksgiving was over. The cat, crippled with "Thanksgiving depression," sits on the couch while reminiscing over the turkey, tuna tot casserole, and shrimp fried mice. "The Ballad of the Sad Snow White Cat," wrote @andreeacat.
In another hilarious video, a burly buffed-up kangaroo can be seen flexing his muscles to the point where it accidentally slipped out a small toot. "Bodybuilders in their another life as kangaroo," said @siddharthasingh03. "You record me taking a deuce, I am making you square up too," added @jthejudge.
Fortunately, it looks like there will be no shortage of animal videos for KLR productions to dub over because they are the ones who give a voice to every animal and personify their probable thoughts.
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